The Stand-In
by lilkawa
Summary: In which Arthur needs to learn about all aspects of the business including how to sew
1. Chapter 1

_Merlin_ doesn't belong to me.

**The Stand-In**

"I can't believe you're making me do this," Arthur Pendragon told his father.

"It's a skill every Pendragon male is expected to have," Uther replied.

"Sewing, Father?" Arthur asked again. "There are machines that do that now so that we don't have to do it by hand."

"Some of the designs have to be handcrafted and you did say you wanted to know every facet of the business," Uther reminded his son.

"I know what I said," Arthur replied, "and I do mean it, I want to know every facet of the business but sewing, come on Father."

"I remember when your grandfather made me do this I protested but he wouldn't budge and in the end I was very grateful to him."

"Yes, I know the story," Arthur interrupted, "that is how you met Mother. She was your instructor."

Uther nodded.

"So is this your way of setting me up?" Arthur asked, knowing his parents he couldn't put past them to have brought up the sewing thing now just to get him hitched. Ygraine had been talking about how he wasn't getting any younger, she probably had a suitable would-be daughter-in-law all lined up to teach him how to sew.

"No, actually," Uther told his son. "We are not trying to set you up, you'll be glad to know that your instructor is going to be Leon, there's no one who knows more about the design section and the designs than him."

"Leon, that's great," Arthur was relieved. He knew Leon; the whole sewing thing was going to be a breeze.

000

"And don't forget you agreed to let me be in charge next week," Guinevere Price said as she stood to leave the office.

"I know what I said," Leon Trenton replied, "and I'm a man of my word."

"Good," Gwen smiled at him. "I can't wait to show all the ideas I have for this place."

Leon smiled at her. She was so excited about being in charge for the week and Leon would be able to go away with Kate. They'd been planning the get-away for months and Leon had been sure he would have to cancel again but as Gwen had convinced him, and Kate had reiterated, she was capable of holding the fort for a week at least and it wasn't if there was anything major planned for the week he was going to be away and he planned to be reachable.

000

Arthur entered the office and looked fully expecting to see his old friend Leon. It would be good to catch up on all the news and maybe learn more about sewing and designs as well.

Instead he saw a woman. Young. Caramel skinned. Curly-haired. Very pretty. But more importantly a woman.

"You must be Arthur Pendragon," she said to him. "Leon told me about your uhmm… meeting." When Gwen had realized that Leon was to be Arthur Pendragon's sewing instructor this week she'd almost changed her mind about being in charge but she'd already promised Kate that work wouldn't stand in the way of the getaway that she and Leon had been planning for months, so she'd had to stick to it.

Besides, she'd told herself that although Arthur was the heir to the Pendragon fortune and that his picture appeared in the society pages hanging out with different beauties all the time, there were articles about him in the business pages as well as the fact that he'd also been hailed as a financial whiz kid. This in addition to the varying accounts he'd heard of him from Morgana and Leon made her want to meet him. Purely as a social experiment she told herself.

"Good morning," Arthur said politely. "I'm supposed to be meeting with Leon."

"Yes," Gwen agreed, "Leon's away with Kate for the week. I'm standing in for him; I'm Guinevere Price…Gwen."

"Good for Kate," Arthur smiled. "She finally got him to take some time off."

"Yes."

"So you're in charge for the week?" Arthur asked. "You're going to be my instructor?"

"Yes," Gwen replied. "I'm fully qualified."

"I don't doubt that." Arthur knew that he shouldn't ask because she obviously wouldn't tell him the truth but he still did. "My Mother set this up, didn't she?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"My mother," Arthur insisted. "She arranged it so that Leon would be going away this week and that you'd be my sewing instructor."

"Your mother didn't set this up, I worked very hard to be in charge this week," Gwen told him. "But if you want another instructor be my guest."

"I didn't to suggest that you aren't good enough to be -"

"Good enough?" Gwen was done with being polite even to her future boss. "You're lucky to have me showing you around let alone teaching you about the designs. Being set up with me would be the best thing that ever happened to you."

"I'm sorry," Arthur said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Really?"

"Huh…Miss Price we got off on the wrong foot. Shall we try again?"

"Just be glad that I like my job and I take pride in doing it well."

"Again, I am very sorry for suggesting that my Mother set this up or that you're not qualified to teach."

"Fine." Gwen pinned a fake smile on her face. "So shall we get started Mr. Pendragon?"

"After you, Miss Price." Arthur had a feeling it was going to be a long week.

000


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading and reviewing**.

"This is a needle."

"I know what a needle is," Arthur told her.

"Good," Gwen replied. "It's important to recognise the tools that are used for sewing, the most of important of which is the needle of course, then there's the thread and the thimble and a pair of scissors."

"Okay."

"Lesson one, threading a needle." She took the basket that contained the items she had mentioned and looked at Arthur. "You choose the needle and thread that you want to use and cut the end of the thread like this," she picked up the scissors and cut it, "then stiffen and lubricate the thread with a bit of saliva and then pass it through the eye of the needle like this." She showed him the threaded needle.

"Nice."

"Your turn," Gwen pushed the basket towards Arthur.

It took Arthur five tries before he got the thread through the eye of the needle and he couldn't help the winces of pain that escaped every time he got pricked by the needle. He hadn't really thought about how sharp needles were but now he could safely say that they were some of the nastiest things in the world.

"Now that we've finished threading the needle," Gwen told Arthur, "we're going to learn a few basic stitches."

Arthur was sitting across of Gwen looking at her. Most of his fingers had little scratches in them from being pricked by the needle but what was really getting him was how instead of focusing on the pain and why he had ever decided to needed to learn how to sew he was staring at Guinevere, the way the curls curved her face, the way her eyes twinkled when she smiled, the deftness of her fingers in doing her work and her voice. He could listen to her for hours on end; in fact she'd had to repeat herself more than once because he wasn't really listening to what she was saying only to her voice.

"He just walked out and never returned?" Arthur asked, incredulous.

"He was bored and needed adventure," Guinevere replied wondering how they had stopped talking about sewing and work to their personal lives. Gwen found herself talking about things that she'd never talked to anyone about.

"But surely he could have returned home, even for a little while when your father had the stroke," Arthur argued.

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Gwen laughed. "I must admit though that I wasn't surprised that Elyan didn't even call me back."

"He'll come back home someday," Arthur tried to reassure her.

"I know," Gwen nodded. "But I wish someday would happen sooner rather than later, Dad is not growing any stronger and I'm sure seeing Elyan would make him much happier."

She took the cloth had Arthur had been working on and said, "Okay I would say that you've got the Straight stitch down and that this enough work today. Tomorrow we'll work on the Chain, Zigzag, Spiral and Diagonal stitches."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And don't forget you are expected to have come up with some new design by Friday."

"What?" Arthur looked at her in shock. "Nobody told me that I was going to be tested."

"Well you are," Gwen was trying to hold back laughter and failing. "A strong great, amazing, beautiful design and more importantly one that is uniquely you."

"No pressure then."

"None at all," Gwen assured him, "by the way that last part was added by your father about an hour before you walked in."

000

"So how was sewing class?" Merlin asked his friend when Arthur entered the house they shared that evening.

"It's not sewing class and it was fine."

"Gwen's a great teacher isn't she?"

Arthur knew that he shouldn't be shocked that Merlin had known who his instructor was before he'd told him but he still asked anyway. "You knew that Miss Price would be my instructor before I went there didn't you?"

"Miss Price?" Merlin laughed. "Is that what you're calling her?"

"It's her name isn't it?" Arthur asked. "Answer the question."

"Of course I knew," Merlin replied. "And so would you if you had bothered to ask."

"Asked who?"

"If you don't know then I won't tell you," Merlin said. "But seriously Miss Price?"

"I don't think of her as Miss Price," Arthur said without thinking and wished that he hadn't said anything when he saw the look Merlin was looking him.

"So can I ask what you think of her as -?" Merlin began only to be interrupted by his friend's, "she's a great teacher and maybe this sewing stuff isn't so bad after all."

"I told you so."

"Shut up Merlin."

000

"So how was it teaching Arthur Pendragon?"

Gwen smiled at her father. "It was fine. I told you it would be fine."

Tom laughed. "As I recall you were the one who was a bit worried about this whole thing and _I_ told you that it would be fine."

"Anyway everything went swimmingly; I think I can actually do this."

"Of course you can," Tom said. "That's why you're a VP and why Leon is always adding to your responsibilities."

"Thanks Dad."

000

"So how did it go?"

"It was fine, Mother," Arthur replied. He was a bit surprised it had taken her this long to call him.

"Any ideas on what design you're going to dazzle us with, come Friday?"

"No. Not yet," Arthur replied.

"Well you don't have a lot of time," Ygraine said. "You actually have to sew it yourself."

"Can't make it until I've actually learnt how to sew properly," Arthur reminded her. "But don't worry. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't."

000

"Does he suspect a thing?"

"Of course not," Merlin replied. "Why would he suspect?"

"Why indeed?" Morgana asked.

"Arthur told me that he may have offended Gwen by suggesting that Ygraine had set up the whole thing to get them together."

Morgana laughed. "He certainly is very suspicious, isn't he?"

"With you lot he has a right to be, doesn't he?"

"What do you mean, you lot?" Morgana asked him. "_This_ was your idea."

"Arthur and Gwen needed a set-up that didn't seem like an obvious set-up and with Arthur being so wary of Ygraine's interference - he couldn't see me coming," Merlin replied. "And you're the one who said Gwen never has time to see people unless its work related."

"So what now?"

"Nothing. The ball is in their court," Merlin reminded her.

"We just watch and wait?" Morgana seemed disappointed. "Can't we invent reasons for being in the office with them?"

"No way." Merlin was adamant. "You know what happened the last time you did that."

"Fine."

000


End file.
